Trip to Utah, Aubrey's Wedding and Reception...

We flew into Utah on August 13th. It was a much easier trip mainly because I did not have the stress of dealing with two kids alone. It was lots better with us all together. Jonas had a hard time with take off and landing-probably cause of his ears. We were so happy to be with family again and be able to prepare for such an exciting event! Alisha and the kids flew in a few days later and Ryan and Lynnae drove in about the same time . Brian flew in on Friday, the day of the reception. It has been a little tricky with our family so spread out, but of course so great when we are together. We have had two wonderful weddings in the last few months which by surprise gave us a perfect excuse to make some more trips home and be able to see everyone.
My dad decided to build the deck they have been planning to do since they moved into this house.  He is really amazing in that when he wants something done he will learn how to do it himself.  He had a little help, but pretty much drew up the plans and built this beautiful deck on his own with the man power of the boys. It is truly amazing.  So grateful for my mom and dad, that they instilled in us the value of work.  Of course it is not always fun while you are doing it, but the end result is worth it even if it is only that you learned to work. When we used to complain about chores my mom and dad always said something they got from my grandma Bitter, 'Once begun is half done'. I thought that was just silly, and now I feel like using it on my own kids :) 
We were constantly busy preparing for the wedding/reception, cleaning the house & yard, building the play set & family deck, and caring for little ones.  It is amazing how much work an event like this takes! But everything turned out perfect.

Bruce and the babes

Boys and their swords...

Da, Jayce, and Wyatt. They are so entertained playing in the garage.

Wednesday night the adults went to the Bountiful Temple to be with Aubrey as she received her endowment. It was so special to be there with her-Aubrey has always had the sweetest and most tender heart. It was so beautiful to look around and see the four oldest siblings there together, and of course my parents. A perfect evening. (Well, almost. I lost my camera that night. We called the temple and the restaurant we went to afterward...nothing. I am sick about it. I am just so grateful Lish gave me all these pictures. So sad...)  

Lego action...

...and secret plans...

...then take a break from playing to help grandma weed the flowerbeds :)

Thursday night we had a little fire in the fire pit out back to burn all the broken branches and things before the reception. It was massive-the boys were mesmerized.

Then we had a wonderful family night lesson given by Ryan and Lynnae. Ryan has been very involved in genealogy and our family history for quite a few years.

They made this family tree with pics and everything. We shared stories and memories...it was so amazing.

Friday was a big and busy day. We prepared all day for the reception that night.

Breanne and Jo

In the late morning we got some rain and I think a bit of hail. We were SO nervous for that evening. But it cleared, and was better than we could have asked for.

Sisters

For their refreshments they had crepe and waffle stations.  It was so fun...and very yummy.

There was a little mishap with the cake-the top layer totally fell off and was ruined while it was being delivered. But I don't think you would ever know it. It was beautiful.

nice.

My Jo

Our family right before I put Jo down for the night. Yay for having receptions at the house! :) So much easier with kids.

Handsome Da

So just another thing to add to the stress-we decided since we only had everyone together for a limited amount of time that we were going to take family pictures right before the reception. So between final preparations and placement of decorations we had to change to picture clothes, then reception clothes while taking lots of pictures and try to be done by the time the guests started to show up. We were a little late, but it ended up being okay.  I was running wild and had a red face, so I kinda look frazzled...glad we got them done though.

My sweet family

Alisha's sweet family

Saturday we were up early and gone to the temple before most of the kids were awake. What a sweet sealing! So happy we were able to be there. The temple is truly a special place. It is amazing every time we are able to participate in a sealing it brings to mind the special feelings and blessings Kyle and I share from ours.

All the siblings...except Aubbie of course :) Waiting for them to come out.

Cute Ry and Lynnae-aren't they a gorgeous couple?

And these two are stunning. They just glow with love :) And Aub's dress was out of this world. Really, the prettiest thing I have ever seen.

So while my little sisters and brother were driving up to the temple with our kids, my little Jo threw up. Probably just car sick. It was not just the little bit of liquid stuff, but worse.  I washed his shirt out in the bathroom sink but it still smelled sour and was all wet. We put it back on for pictures. Sad story... 

My sweet parents

Lish took some pictures of us before we left for the luncheon. The boys look less than thrilled, but not unexpected. Guess that shows real life eh? Oh, how I LoVe my boys!!!

While we were waiting to walk to the car, the boys were being very entertaining...

I love Jayce's sweet smile in this one :)

And crazy monkey faces.

All worn out.

Bri and the babes

Saturday night we had our cousins Sarah, Allison, and their families over as well as Garrett. It was so fun to just hang out, eat food, and visit. We are also so grateful that we were able to see Kyle's friends from school and I was able to visit my sweet friend Chaleese-and see her new house!  It was beautiful. Truly, friends and family are what make us happy in life. We all went to the airport Sunday morning. Our family headed back to Nebraska, and Alisha's family flew to California for another few weeks.  

We love Aubbie and Lando! So happy for their new life together. It was a great trip. We are so grateful for wonderful family and friends who make our lives so enjoyable! I know I write this all the time, but what would life be without them?! 

We were only in Nebraska for a day and a half before we started driving to D.C. (Thanks to Nate for taking us and picking us up from the airport...we avoided a huge headache. I guess there was a big storm in Omaha while we were away that brought some big hail.  All the cars in the parking lot had windows broken in from it.  Even the lights on the sides of the road had their bulbs shattered. Insane.) We were so happy to see friends and be able to visit for even just a short time before we head to our newest adventure.  Griff and Lar had their baby boy who is sweeter than words can describe. So glad we got to met and see him before we left. And to all our friends in Nebraska-we miss you so much already...